New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has vowed to strengthen “hate speech” laws and declared that multiculturalism is “not up for debate”, sparking a furious backlash.
Mr Minns said on Sunday that making NSW’s anti-vilification laws even harsher would be one of the first items on his agenda when parliament resumes next month, claiming that hate speech was responsible for a series of recent alleged anti-Semitic firebomb and graffiti attacks in Sydney.
“I’ve become increasingly of the view that the initial spark isn’t someone going to a synagogue or a house and lighting a match – the initial spark is hate speech in our community,” he said.
“Our government is going to make the decision soon, a difficult decision, but the right one … to strengthen hate speech laws in NSW so that if someone is preaching hatred in the community it doesn’t manifest itself two or three months later in a firebombing or an attack or something worse.”
Mr Minns said he was looking at changes to Section 93Z of the Crimes Act, which outlaws the incitement of violence on grounds of race, religion, gender and sexual orientation, even though the NSW Law Reform Commission in November last year recommended no changes to the section following a nine-month review.
NSW Premier Chris Minns says he makes “no apologies” for having stricter hate speech laws than in the US, with plans to further strengthen these laws in February.
He also emphasises that there is “no room for debate” on the matter of multiculturalism in Australia. pic.twitter.com/vVddQtf1QQ
— Australians vs. The Agenda (@ausvstheagenda) January 17, 2025
Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip told The Daily Telegraph that weak hate speech laws were leading to violence against Jews in Sydney and Melbourne, and welcomed the Premier’s promise to strengthen laws.
“It is unacceptable that individuals have been able to call for acts of violence against other Australians based on their race or religion without consequence,” he said.
“We’ve now clearly seen that what starts with rhetoric doesn’t end with rhetoric – it ends with the violent scenes we’ve seen in Sydney and Melbourne in recent times.”
Mr Minns on Friday echoed statements he made late last year, saying he made “no apologies” for having much stricter hate speech laws than the United States.
“The reason we do [have stricter speech laws] is because we want to protect what can be a very fragile community that we’ve built in Australia, the multicultural community of 2025,” he said.
“And that’s not up for debate and it’s not up for a change.”
But many Australians and international observers took exception to the comments, calling them undemocratic and tyrannical.
Queensland LNP Senator Matt Canavan responded to the comments on X, saying: “But is there the kind of abhorrent anti-Semitic firebombing attacks in the US as we have?
“If not why do we need laws that will restrict the speech of ALL Australians? It would seem to make more sense just to use the laws we have to prosecute the criminals.”
But is there the kind of abhorrent anti-semitic firebombing attacks in the US as we have?
If not why do we need laws that will restrict the speech of ALL Australians?
It would seem to make more sense just to use the laws we have to prosecute the criminals. https://t.co/LucyTQG2Wh
— Senator Matt Canavan (@mattjcan) January 17, 2025
“Apparently democracy is when political issues are not up for debate,” wrote another Aussie.
“Sounds like a dictator to me. In Australia, Australians will continue to debate what is important to the future of our country. We will all still be here, long after Minns has been kicked out of government. Every topic is on the table for discussion,” said a third.
Many others said that if multiculturalism had to be protected with harsh censorship, then it should be up for debate.
“Multiculturalism is so wonderful that we have to restrict your basic freedoms so that it doesn’t implode,” said one X user.
“Multiculturalism promotes segregation ,suppresses free speech, destroys culture & eventually civilisation,” another chimed in.
Others pointed to parallels with the UK, where extremely harsh hate speech laws have made the country the target of global debate.
“This is how it started in the UK until these very laws were used against people trying to expose grooming gangs. Politicians turned a blind eye, the girl’s stories labelled as hate speech and racist to protect a ‘FRAGILE’ multicultural community that they created without consent,” said one.
Mr Minns’ comments come after his Victorian counterpart Jacinta Allan announced similar strengthened hate speech laws as a result of lobbying by the Jewish community.
They are expected to pass parliament in February and come into effect six months later.
Header image: Left, right, Chris Minns visits a synagogue in Sydney after an alleged anti-Semitic attack in November last year (Facebook).
